My race shirt quilt!

I almost decided not to write a post today. I feel so strange now that I'm not running. My whole identity seems to be based on running/weight loss, and now that I can't run because of my ankle, I just feel like a completely different person.

My ankle doesn't feel any better, so I think I'm going to make an appointment with a sports med doctor soon. I dread doing this, because the last time I went (for a knee injury), the doctor told me "Well, just don't run!" I need to find a doctor that is also a runner (or an athlete, at least) so he or she will understand that NOT running is not an option. I am totally fine with giving it up temporarily to heal my ankle, but I don't believe there is any reason to give it up permanently.

My days just feel so strange without having a morning run built in. Normally, I get the kids off to school, eat breakfast, do some email/blog stuff, and then go for a run. Without that, I feel like my whole day is kind of thrown off. And then, considering my blog has been mostly about my running/weight loss for four years, I feel like I shouldn't write anything if it's not about that. But considering this blog is basically a journal, I'm going to just keep writing, regardless. So I apologize if it's totally irrelevant!

Yesterday was Eli's 9th birthday. I thought it was so funny that he decided he wanted to go to La Pita for his birthday dinner! He told me he wanted to go there "for the garlic sauce", haha. Definitely his mama's kid. Jerry and I picked him up from school (along with Noah) and we went up to La Pita. My parents, along with Brian and Becky, and Nathan and Kendall, met us there, so we had a pretty big group there for dinner.

I was thrilled to see that Brian and Becky remembered to bring my quilt! I wrote about this a long time ago, but if you don't remember, I had cut up my race t-shirts and sewed them together into a quilt top. I had never done an actual quilt before, so I didn't want to ruin my quilt top by practicing on it, and I just left it alone. Then, Brian and Becky were dating, and Becky said that she and her mom loved quilting, and she offered to help me finish it.

I sent the quilt top to Minnesota with Becky, and totally trusted her to do whatever needed to be done.  She told me that she and her mom had finished it, and I was dying to see it. So yesterday, I finally got to see the finished product. It was AMAZING.

They used shoe patterns for the quilting, and I thought that was so clever! Becky's mom has a long-arm quilting machine, so she used that for the quilting, and then she did the edge binding by hand. I am just SO amazed at how perfect it turned out! I love it.

Last night, there was a lot of talk on Facebook that school would be canceled today. And sure enough, we got the phone call (last night, thankfully, and not at 5:00 this morning!) that school would be closed due to the cold temperatures. When I got up this morning, the wind chill was -29 degrees. I was just glad it wasn't on Eli's birthday! Last year, on Eli's birthday, it was the coldest day on record since the 1800's, and Eli told me it was "the worst birthday of [his] life". (He's a bit dramatic, haha)

Since school was canceled today, Jerry went to the store to get the stuff for mimosas (sparkling grape juice for the kids), and we had a mimosa-pajama-movie day. At first, we put the juice and wine on the porch to stay cold, but it actually froze pretty quickly, so we had to bring it in. It's so weird that last week, it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt while running!

Tomorrow is supposed to be really cold again, so I'm not sure if the kids will have school. But I hope it's not too bad, because Eli is having his birthday party in the evening!

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Deep water running

I'm really frustrated with this ankle issue I have going on. For about 90% of the time, my ankle feels completely fine, and it makes me feel like I'm overreacting. When I walk the kids to the bus stop, or I just walk around the house, I think, "I could totally go for a run right now!" But that other 10% of the time, I am very confident that it is, in fact, injured. Yesterday (and today), I took a rest day, and I also tried to come up with a plan for where to go from here.

I am registered for the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half on January 18th. My best friend Sarah and I were going to walk it together (she doesn't run) for our 33rd birthdays. Our birthdays are on the 22nd and 25th, so we decided to celebrate together this year by walking the race. I really don't think it's a good idea to to do the race (walking or running) because I feel like I need to focus on healing my ankle. I'm sure a 5K or 10K would be okay, but I have a feeling that doing a half marathon would really mess it up right now.

This picture is totally irrelevant to this post. But when I was looking for a picture of Sarah and me celebrating a birthday, I came across this one, and I love it. I don't know how old we were here... maybe three?

So, yesterday, I told Sarah that I'm not going to be able to do the race. I offered to cheer her on, but she admitted that she was really unprepared for the race, and so we mutually agreed to be spectators. I'm still going to Phoenix for a few days to visit, I just won't be doing the race there. And since I decided to back out of the goal of a half-marathon per month due to my ankle issue, I don't have another race lined up until March, when I go to Portland.

Because of all of that, I'm going to avoid running until my ankle is better. But I don't want to turn into a couch potato, either, so I started thinking of alternatives. The most popular alternative to running, particularly when one is injured, is deep water running (or pool running). This is basically done in the deep end of a pool, where you can't touch the bottom. You wear a floatation belt to hold you upright and keep you from sinking, and then you basically run--you do the same motion as running outside, but you're not actually touching the ground. This is really great exercise for runners who are injured, because it is a NO impact exercise.

I've read from several blogs of runners who have done it to keep in shape or continue training when injured, and it seems to be really successful. Yesterday, I ordered an "Aqua Jogger" on Amazon (the flotation belt to keep me from sinking):

When that arrives, I'm going to renew my membership at the rec center, and give the pool running a try! I'm sure it's going to be mind-numbingly boring (my "long runs" in the pool of two hours with no entertainment? Yikes!) but if I bring the kids and/or Jerry along, maybe it won't be too bad. I wish my iPod was waterproof.

If all goes well with the pool running, hopefully I will stay in good enough running shape to get back to running on the ground when my ankle is better. I'm praying that I'll be able to run normally again by February!

As I mentioned in my New Year's post, on Tuesdays I'd like to do Taste Test Tuesday again--only instead of tasting a new product, I'll try a new "real foods" recipe. My sister shared a recipe with me yesterday that she said was really good, so I decided to make that. It's called Mexican Chicken Quinoa Casserole.

I was tempted to swap out brown rice for the quinoa, because I don't love quinoa. I also wanted to use sour cream instead of yogurt, because you know how I feel about yogurt. But to be fair to Taste Test Tuesday, I figured I should probably make it as written in the recipe. When I went shopping to pick up a couple of the ingredients, Kroger was actually out of chicken breasts--strange. I used ground turkey breast instead, so that was the only substitution I made.

It wasn't a very pretty dish, but it turned out really good!

Like I said, I would have preferred rice, but when I tasted this, I couldn't taste the quinoa at all. I like the texture of quinoa (it's just the taste that I don't care for), but the spices of the dish overpowered the flavor of the quinoa. I didn't taste any of the yogurt, either. Everything went really well together, and it was so good! It was on the spicy side, so next time I'll leave out the cayenne because my kids won't eat it when it's this spicy. I'll definitely make it again, though. Jerry and I both loved it.

Tomorrow is Eli's ninth birthday! We asked him what he'd like to do for his birthday dinner, and he said he wants to go to La Pita :) I'm so glad it's La Pita and not Chinese food again! The food at La Pita is pretty healthy, no matter what you order, so I can make it work. My older brother and his wife are coming in from Minnesota, so we're picking them up on the way to the restaurant. My parents and my little brother are going as well. Should be fun! I can't believe my youngest child will be NINE tomorrow. And to think I was carded for buying wine today, haha ;)

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Motivational Monday #93

Happy first Motivational Monday of 2015! I hope that everyone's year is off to a great start. This week, I'm super proud of myself for the way I've been eating. I don't think I've eaten this healthy in my entire life ;) My weight hasn't budged an ounce, which is totally frustrating, but I'm keeping in mind that these are changes not for weight loss, but to be healthier in general. Hopefully, the weight will start to go down again soon.

Thank you for the great response to Motivational Monday submissions this week! I was getting worried that the series was starting to have run its course. I'm loving the 100-pounds lost submissions, too. Several people have asked when those will be posted--those will be on the 100th Motivational Monday post. Today is #93, so it'll be at least in 7 weeks, but probably 8-9 weeks from now (I'm going on a couple of trips, and likely won't post a MM while I'm gone). 

There are some great MM stories today. Enjoy!

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In January of 2014, Summer decided to start eating better and exercising more to train for a half marathon. She lost 35 pounds and ran several 5K and 10K races during training. After all the hard work, she recently completed her first half marathon in a little under 3 hours! Since it was her first attempt, her goal was to finish strong, regardless of time. She is feeling great and plans to run another half in 2015.  

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After her second full marathon in September, Amy needed a goal race to keep running, so she trained for a 15K (her first race of that distance). She ended up finishing in 1:50:50! She had a goal of under 12 minutes per mile, and was thrilled to have met that (along with an automatic PR, considering it was her first 15K!). The race morning was cold, but the hot chocolate and dipping chocolate made it all worthwhile! Now she's signed up for the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K as her New Year's goal.

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Dominique had wanted to be a runner for years. Finally, last March, she started working with a trainer, who helped her lose 50 pounds and start running. She ran her first 5K, the Susan G. Komen race, in honor of her mother, who is a breast cancer survivor. It was freezing, and she couldn't feel her hands, but she had a blast and can't wait to run more races! This year, she's hoping to run as many 5Ks as she can fit in.

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Angie's dad fought a long and brave battle with a rare form of lymphoma, but sadly, he passed away in September. Angie started the Couch to 5K running program two weeks later, in order to continue to  heal by continuing to spend time thinking of him and talking to him. She's run every other day since then, and just completed her goal race! She felt her father with her the whole way. 

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Sarah is proud to share two photos of her on New Year's Eve--with a 50 pound difference! The pic on the left is from 2008, where she weighed 230 pounds; and on the right is from 2014. She put on the extra weight in college, from emotional eating, drinking, and partying. It took her a long time to get where she is, with bumps along the way, but she is currently on Weight Watchers and is very excited to reach her goal weight. 

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Colleen's husband gave her a FitBit Flex for her 36th birthday in October, and she used that as a jumping off point to take charge of her health. She's down 20.8 pounds from her high weight of 240! Her goal for 2015 is to participate in a 5K or other race every month. (Colleen's Facebook page)

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Rebecca's friend asked her to do two fitness challenges with her: an ab challenge and a squat challenge. Her friend's plan was to start on the first of the year, but Rebecca decided to start right then and there. She's been working on both challenges since December 29, and hasn't missed a day! She has also started running and eating healthier, losing seven pounds so far! She and her husband are signed up for the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K as well :)

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Rita joined Weight Watchers and started running about a year and a half ago, and has dropped 70 pounds! She does a lot of running to earn activity PointsPlus, but she hadn't done a race since about nine years ago, before she had kids. She signed up for the Polar Dash, a New Year's Day 5K, and publicly stated her goal as under 40 minutes (she secretly hoped for under 37 minutes). She ended up crushing her secret goal, finishing in 36:16! She also super proud of her girls, who ran their first race (1500 meters) the same day :)

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On New Year's Day, Amy ran the "Frosty Four" in her hometown--and it was certainly frosty! She had a great run, saw lots of friends, and even scored a PR. It was a great way to ring in the New Year, and she's already looking forward to another four-mile race in a couple of weeks.

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When my friend Dean sent me this picture, I had to laugh. This was his MM submission? ;) But Dean accomplished something this week that was HUGE for him... he ate his first apple since he was a kid! He has a huge aversion to fruits and vegetables (not in a cutesy "oh, I don't really care for that" kind of way; more of a "I'm going to vomit just thinking about that" kind of way). He wants to like them, because he knows they are healthy, but he hadn't even tried any for years (decades?). He made huge strides this week when he asked his wife to pick up an apple at the grocery store for him. It took him a few tries, but he finally ate it! You can read the story on his blog :)

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Jen made the decision to join Weight Watchers, and her first meeting was on 12/27/14. She had a GREAT week, staying on program even when she celebrated New Year's Eve with friends. She was rewarded with a one-pound loss for the week to kick off 2015!

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Don't forget to check out more stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post!

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Injury update and current eats

I hope you all enjoyed the Q&A post with Golden! I've learned a ton of great info from him, and it's been very useful, especially over the past month with the peroneal tendinosis I've been dealing with. I've always called it tendonitis, and when Golden was doing his presentation in Bethlehem, I thought he was just mistakenly saying "tendinosis" and "plantar fasciosis"... but he explained the difference between the "itis" and "osis", and I learned that what I've been dealing with is actually tendinosis, which is a long-term injury.

In fact, I can remember when it started, way back in summer of 2013! It was never anything alarming, which is why I didn't pay much attention to it. I just noticed that when I was doing certain strength exercises or trying to sit on my heels that there was some ankle pain (basically, anything that caused me to point my toes). Tendinosis comes on very gradually and lasts a very long time.

During the Turkey Trot 5K, I stepped on a large jingle bell that was lying on the ground, and rolled my ankle. It hurt for a day or two, but I was fine. I ran several times after that without pain, so I assumed nothing had happened. But then when I ran on that slanted road, the pain was terrible, and that's when I finally realized there was an injury. I don't know for sure that all this is related, but from what I've read, it seems to make sense.

This info, along with the runs I've done this week (I'll explain that later), caused me to really think about and reevaluate my running goals. I have two "goal races" for 2015: 1) the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon, where I want to run sub-2:00; and 2) the Detroit Free Press Marathon, where I'd like to run a PR. My secondary running goal for the year was to run a half-marathon every month.

In order to do well at my goal races, I obviously need my ankle in top shape. I'm still having a little bit of pain with it, and I've been feeling stressed about trying to get in my long runs so that I can be prepared for a half-marathon every month. After the past few weeks, I feel like I can't really have both--I should choose either my goal races or the half-marathon-per-month goal. And I choose my goal races.

I think the Run Less Run Faster training was a little too tough as well. This week, I haven't had any good runs. On Thursday, I was supposed to run 3 miles at 8:36 pace, and I only managed a half-mile at that pace before slowing to easy pace. Friday, I ran 4 miles at an easy pace, but I really had a hard time with it. And today, I was supposed to run 8 miles at 9:29-9:39/mile. Last week, I ran 7 miles at 9:27, so I thought today would be no problem.

The weather was great for a run this morning, so I headed out and ended up running the first mile a little too fast, but was still doing okay. By mile three, I thought, "There is no way I can do this pace! This is killing me..." and I decided to just slow it down and run a comfortable pace to get in the miles. My ankle was starting to bother me a little during the fifth mile, so I made the decision to stop after mile five. But the last few miles felt SO hard for some reason, even though that shouldn't have been a hard pace for me.

When I got home, I noticed my calorie burn was sky-high (590 for a 5-mile run), and then I saw why: my average heart rate was 172, and my max had hit 199. For reference, I usually feel my best and run easiest when my heart rate is in the 140's; and during a race, it'll usually end up being in the mid-160's. (The Turkey Trot 10K was the last race I ran hard, and my average HR was 164; max was 179.) So today, for my average to be 172, I was obviously working much harder than normal, but it just wasn't reflected in my pace. I have no idea what's going on with that, but I'm going to start paying more attention to it while I'm running.

I still felt a little guilty for not finishing out the 8-miler, but while I was showering, I started reevaluating my priorities. My top priority right now is getting in shape for a sub-2:00 in Indy. So I am going to focus on that and that alone (first, healing my ankle, and then half-specific training). I feel like a loser for dropping my one-half-marathon-per-month goal just four days into January, but I know it's the right decision. Maybe I'll do that next year, and and make it my top priority.

So that's what's been going on with running. My ankle is 90% better than it was after the Santa Hustle Half, so I'm just going to keep working on making it better (strength exercises, rest, taking it easy when needed, etc.). I don't have to start training specifically for Indy until mid-February, so from now until then, it's all about healing my ankle.

My eating, on the other hand, has been fantastic! I started with the "real foods" goal on December 31st, and I've been doing really well with it. My favorite breakfast right now is a smoothie of milk, a banana, natural peanut butter (peanuts is the only ingredient), and chia seeds. For lunch, I've been having a salad every day--mixed greens, dried cranberries, avocado, sunflower seeds, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, and chicken. I've said many times that I'm not a salad fan, and I'm still not, really--but sometimes I just go through salad phases, and right now, I really want to like them. This one has actually been really good!

Dinner has been different each day, but my favorite so far was a taco bowl. Instead of using prepared taco seasoning, I made my own, and added it to extra lean ground turkey breast. Then I made a bowl of brown rice, the taco meat, lettuce, salsa, natural sour cream, cheese, and avocado.

The hardest thing to come up with has been snacks. I've had Triscuits with homemade olive tapenade, carrots with peanut butter, and almonds. But I need some more carbs, and it's hard to get carbs from snacks that aren't processed. I think part of the reason my runs have felt so hard is because I'm not getting as many carbs as I used to. When my bananas are ripe enough, I'm going to bake some whole wheat banana bread, and have that for a dessert/snack.

It's actually been kind of difficult to get in more than 30 PointsPlus per day. I feel my best when I eat around 40 PP per day, so I'm still working on adding some here and there. I used to spend 5 PP on a glass of wine, and 2 PP on a WW brownie, but since I haven't had those things, I have a lot of room to add other things to my meals. (For the record, I am not giving up wine! I just decided to try and save it for social situations or special occasions, rather than just a nightly routine.)

This way of eating has certainly been interesting. Not easy at all, but not super difficult, either. It's mostly just refreshing to look at a food label not to see the calories, but to read the ingredients list. The taco seasoning, for example, that I threw together in 30 seconds from spices I already had actually tasted much better than the seasoning packet you normally buy at the store. I never realized there were so many additives in something as simple as taco seasoning!

I think it's going to be fun to come up with alternatives to some of the processed things I usually buy. I'm looking forward to it, actually!

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By the way, tomorrow is Motivational Monday, and I hope that some of you will consider contributing. Last week, there weren't any submissions, and I know a lot of you enjoy the weekly post; so to keep it going, I need you to share your victories! (Here is the info on submitting)

Also, I'm still looking for people who have lost 100+ pounds and want to share a photo and short bio for the 100th MM post. I've gotten a few, so thank you for those! They can be sent to the same email address, just use the subject "100" instead.

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Interview with Golden Harper, founder of Altra running shoes

I've been very excited to post this, but with the holidays, it took longer than I thought... Enjoy!

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Today's post is a first for me: an interview! There are several running products out there that I love, and when I discover something like that, I like to share it on my blog. I'm not an ambassador for, nor do I work side-by-side with, any companies, because I like to be able to give my very honest, genuine opinion. 

I can honestly say that I've never been so excited about running equipment that I've wanted to interview the person who developed it... until now. I've also never been a big "shoe" person when it comes to running--I was fitted in Brooks Adrenalines in 2010, and I'd been wearing them for four years. I tried a few others, just because I was tired of the colors of the Adrenlines, but kept going to back to the old faithful. (I have wide feet, and there aren't many selections for wide feet)

So when I learned that we bloggers would be listening to a presentation by Altra, a running shoe company, in Bethlehem at the Runner's World Half, let's just say it wasn't the most anticipated part of our itinerary for me ;) We were introduced to Golden Harper, founder of Altra, and within moments, I was completely caught up in the story behind the company. It's fascinating! By the end of the presentation, I was completely sold. (Fun fact: Golden ran 5 marathons between ages 10 and 14. At age 12, he ran a 2:45 finish time--a world best, which still holds today!)

You can read the complete story of how Altra was born here on their website. But for the sake of length, I'll try and write it in a nutshell here:

Golden's family owns a running store, and for years, runners would come in complaining of the common running injuries: shin splints, knee pain, recurring foot pain, etc. Golden, an Exercise Science major in college, studied running technique and running injuries, and was determined to get to the cause of the problem. His college research, as well as video analysis of people running on a treadmill at the store, showed that the design of traditional running shoes promoted poor form and excessive impact (due to the pointy toe boxes and heels that were twice as thick and heavy as the forefoot). 

Golden started using his toaster oven to melt the outsoles of traditional running shoes and remove excess heel elevation for his customers, causing the heel to be the same distance from the ground as the forefoot (which he gave the term "Zero Drop"). The modified shoes worked so well at preventing injuries that the store had nearly 1,000 people buy and modify their shoes to be "Zero Drop" that first year. Golden (quite literally) ran with the idea, and a couple of years later, Altra shoes were born. Instead of modifying existing traditional shoes, the Zero Drop™ Altra was a brand of its own. 

At the Runner's World presentation, Golden went on to explain the reasoning behind the Zero Drop™ shoe platform, as well as Altra's "Footshape™ Toe-box" (a toe box that is shaped like a foot, rather than the traditional tapered box). In listening to his explanations and research, the whole idea made so much sense to me! Altra's shoes allow your feet to be as natural as possible, but they still give you the cushion of a traditional running shoe. 

The first pair I tried was the One2, and it was definitely not the right shoe for me. It was comfortable for a couple of miles, but I couldn't see myself running long distances in them. It wasn't until I met Golden, and asked his opinion, that I learned I should have been in something much more cushioned, like the Paradigm. He allowed me to swap them out, and what a difference! The first few runs with the Paradigms weren't mind-blowing; but the more I ran in them, the more I liked them. And eventually, I was talking to all my friends and family about these shoes. I even bought a pair of Altras for each of my kids, and Jerry bought a pair as well. 

My younger brother, Nathan, was a self-proclaimed heel striker. He'd tried so hard to stop heel-striking, but was never able to do it. When he got a pair of Paradigms and took them out for a run, he sent me a text saying: "These shoes are the new loves of my life!" He said it was nearly impossible to heel-strike while wearing them. 

I could go on and on, but I've already made this intro way too long. I am really excited to share Golden's Q&A with you. He explains the science and reasoning behind the shoes.

Q. I've never been a "shoe person", and I really don't understand all the mumbo jumbo that shoe companies use to sell their shoes. Shoes all seem the same to me, aside from a few of the extremes! What makes Altra shoes unique?

A. Altra shoes are very unique in a couple of ways. First off, 99% of shoes have elevated heels and tapered toe boxes, both of which are known to cause foot maladies and other injuries. On the other hand, every Altra shoe features a Footshape™ Toe-box  and a cushioned Zero Drop™ platform. The Footshape™ Toe-box was designed by tracing the shape of healthy runners' feet in socks, and it combines with the Zero Drop™ platform to let an athlete be in his or her natural, healthy, state…feet flat with toes relaxed and spread out. These things let a person’s body be in the position they are born in and helps encourage efficient, low impact running technique and healthy feet. 

Q. Are Altra shoes just for runners? Or can walkers use them also?

A. Altras are great for walkers. In fact, many in the race walking community love and race in our shoes! Any shoe we make works well as a walking shoe, but we do make a couple of walking-specific shoes in the Instinct Everyday and a new supportive shoe called the Paradigm Walk (which releases in a few weeks). Since most people find that the longer they are wearing a shoe, the more of a difference keeping your foot in its natural position makes, wearing Altras is almost more obviously beneficial at first when they’re worn for casual wear.

Q. What is the problem with "traditional" running shoes?

A. Well, there are a few problems with traditional running shoes: First, they were designed with an elevated heel to let people comfortably over-stride to improve performance---something that has now been proven not to work. Unfortunately, there was no thought of injury ramifications when these were designed and these heavy, elevated heels actually encourage a runner to run inefficiently and with more impact.

Second, the first and most popular running shoes were designed specifically for a particular athlete with a very long second toe, and are therefore tapered, or pointy, in nature. The tapered toe box does not match the shape of the foot and therefore inhibits natural impact absorption, stability, and push off. Many also believe the tapered toe box to be responsible for a majority of foot problems from Bunions and Neuromas, to Metatarsalgia and Plantar Fasciosis.

Third, modern running shoes are “prescribed” based on a Pronation paradigm that has zero scientific backing. In fact, about half of runners are sold a shoe to “stabilize” their pronation, even though there is next to no scientific research linking pronation with injuries or problems of any kind. Additionally, there is no way to quantify how much pronation is too much and a decade of data by the Running Injury Clinic in Canada shows that 87% of people should not be using a “Stability” shoe. Stability shoes also push up more in the arch and don’t break down there, weakening the feet over time and causing a dependency cycle, essentially keeping them addicted to the shoe.  

Q. If someone is used to a traditional shoe, and has not experienced injury or any other problems with it, is there a reason to switch to Altras?

There are lots of reasons! With that said, I’m a big advocate of “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!” I originally created this kind of shoe to help the hopeless, broken runner. However, if you have no problems with your current shoes, but want to experience the freedom of the Footshape™ Toe-box or the efficiency of a Zero Drop™ platform, then I recommend just slowly phasing them in to your routine and rotate them with your other shoes for as long as you would like. Rotating different types of shoes is done by most elites and is a good way to help prevent injury.

As for the reasons, here are a few:
-Keeping your foot in its natural position is crazy comfortable, and your feet will get stronger over time!
-The longer you’re out running, the more your feet will appreciate not being moved out of their natural position (this is why Altras are one of the top 2 brands seen at 100-mile races). 

-If you want to improve your running form, Altras are kind of like a cheater way to improve! (In addition to the Zero Drop™ midsoles, the shoes are weight balanced front to back as well.)
-If you have a healthy shaped foot (like a paddle), and your feet always feel a bit claustrophobic or ache a bit when you take your shoes off, you’ll likely enjoy them.
-If your feet have been tapered from hand-me-down shoes as a child, or from years of wearing tapered toe box shoes, then you can start to reverse the effects before your tapered feet cause major problems at an older age.
-They’re the only cushioned athletic shoes that fit with Correct Toes™, which many people use to help bunions, neuromas, Plantar Fasciitis, etc.
-Many people have found relief in their lower back, hips, or knees, which have been hurt due to alignment issues from wearing elevated heels.  

Q. If someone who has been using traditional running shoes is interested in trying Altras, how should they decide which model is best?

A. The best way is probably for them to call our customer support line and let them know all about their feet, injury history, and running shoes they have had success with. Additionally, I will try and answer any comments here with answers as well.

Q. Are there any instances/feet that the Zero Drop™is NOT good for? (For example, someone with high arches or flat feet?)

A. Not really. People are born Zero Drop! We have been brainwashed to believe that high arches and flat feet are bad things when, in actuality, they are usually just an excuse for someone to make a lot of money off of an expensive orthotic, etc. Most problems are actually due to weak feet, regardless of arches, etc. In fact, most world-record setting distance runners have strong but FLAT feet! As long as the shoes are phased in properly, there are very few people they won’t work for. As an example though, someone with a lower calf or Achilles injuries should phase the shoes in VERY slowly to allow that area to slowly lengthen, strengthen, and heal over time. Often the long-term solution can also be a short-term irritant if done too much.

Q. What is the best way to transition into the Zero Drop™ shoes for someone who is used to traditional running shoes?

A. It generally depends on the level of cushioning. I give the same advice as I always did when selling someone any new shoe at my running store: rotate them off and on with your old shoes for the first few weeks. Start with easy runs week 1, then do moderate runs week 2, and finally add harder or longer runs week 3, as long as everything is feeling good. Our research shows that transition time is more related to the amount of cushioning in a shoe than the amount of drop from heel to forefoot.  For example, a shoe with a very thin forefoot and a large 15mm drop would still have a very long transition time---likely months.  However, a very cushioned shoe Zero Drop™ shoe like the Altra Paradigm™ has very little transition time for most people---a couple days to a couple of weeks typically. (Here is specific transition advice from the Altra website)

Q. Based on your experience with customers, what kind of improvements can runners expect to see when switching to Altras? (Better form? Less injuries?)

A. People will likely see better form right out of the gate. When we video people, it’s usually pretty dramatic within about 4 minutes of running.  With that said, I definitely recommend people check out www.AltraRunBetter.com to learn how to run better, regardless of what shoes they choose to wear. 

I sure hope people continue to have less injuries or I have totally failed in my whole reason for creating these shoes!  I get emails, Facebook posts, texts, etc., every day telling me about how Altra shoes and the Altra philosophy have helped people get rid of injuries that have plagued them.  There is nothing more gratifying than hearing this! A quick check of our shoe reviews on our website or our Facebook page usually reveals some awesome stories. 



Golden graduated with a degree in Exercise Science and did his collegiate studies on running technique and running injuries. He grew up working in his family’s running store, was an All-American Cross-Country runner, and holds a world-best for a 12-year old in the marathon at 2:45:34.

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Thank you, Golden! Katie here again :) When Golden told us bloggers to phase the shoes into our rotation slowly, I assumed it was just to avoid being sore for a couple of days; but it's important to do it slowly to avoid injury, as well. From what I understand from Golden, your feet need a little time to strengthen and get used to running in a natural position after wearing traditional shoes (and being reliant on them for support) for so long. My calves felt a little sore after the first run or two with the Altras, but not bad at all. Golden warned us to expect that.

Also, Golden highly recommends reading about Altra's healthy running philosophy (regardless of what type of shoes you wear). I found the information incredibly useful, and was especially interested in the "Repetitive stress and muscle imbalances". I am going to start finding some uneven terrain to train on in order to strengthen my feet and avoid future injuries. I've also started rotating my shoes: Altra Paradigm, Altra Torin, and Brooks Adrenaline. Rotating shoes is almost like "cross-training" for your feet, because you're using different muscles in different ways each time you run. I'd never thought of it that way before.

My Altra Torins--finally, shoes with cool colors for my feet! ;)

If you're like to try out Altra shoes for yourself, here's a great opportunity: Golden very generously offered to give away a pair of Altra shoes to a lucky Runs for Cookies reader! I'll do a random drawing, and the winner (U.S. only--sorry International friends!) will receive a pair of Altra shoes of his/her choice.

To enter the giveaway, just fill out the form below. I'll close entries and choose a winner on Friday, January 10th, 2015 at 10:00 AM EST. (I'll email the winner, who will have 48 hours to get back to me--otherwise I'll choose someone else). One entry per person, please. Good luck!

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Goals for 2015

Happy New Year, Friends! Last night, I spent the evening watching a movie with the boys, and I was in bed by 10:00. I woke up at midnight, when people were shooting off fireworks, but that was the extent of my celebration ;)

For the past couple of months, I've been thinking about what I want to do in 2015. I know that "New Year's resolutions" are cliche, and many people don't do them anymore, but there is something awesome about the fresh start of a new year. I happen to love making New Year's resolutions--I don't always keep them, but it's fun to think up new goals!

When I looked back at last year's post for 2014 goals, I realized that my main running goal was to not have any running goals--I wanted to run just for fun. I didn't want to worry about pace, or strictly following a training schedule, or any of that. I planned to run when I wanted, and only if it was enjoyable.

And that's pretty much exactly what I did all year. I followed through on this goal! The interesting thing is, I had completely forgotten that I set that as a goal, and I was feeling bad about my pace slowing so much this year. Now I see that even though my pace slowed, I achieved what I had hoped to--I got excited about running again.

After the Chicago Marathon in October 2013, I lost my running libido. I had trained so much and so hard for that race, running 50+ miles per week, and I was burnt out. That's why I decided not to make any big goals for 2014, and just run for fun. I only really "raced" once in all of 2014, and that was at the Turkey Trot 10K. I ran a lot of races, but that was the only one at my best effort. (Oh wait--I guess I could count the 5K where I "chased" my brothers. That was tough!)

Even though it's going to take me a while to get my running fitness back to what it was in 2013, I'm actually feeling really excited about working on it. I'm looking forward to training hard and pushing myself to be a better runner.

At 5:30 this morning, I registered for a race that I had verbally agreed to several months ago. In October, I'll be running the Detroit Free Press Marathon--the full 26.2. I've already run this race, but out of the three I did, it's my favorite. The course is awesome, and the first half just flew by. Thomas was interested in running it, and at first, I told him I'd run the half while he ran the full. But he talked me into doing the full (I was probably drinking wine at the time!) and so I committed.

The more I got used to the idea, the more excited I became. I decided that not only am I going to run it, but I am going to make it my best marathon yet. After I run the Indy Mini in May (a goal race for me), I'll decide on what finish time I'd like to aim for in Detroit. At the very least, I would like to aim for a PR--under 4:16:38.

And of course, my running quality goes hand-in-hand with my diet/weight. I was my fastest at 130-133 pounds, and I would love to get back there. This year was all kinds of messed up, and I'm actually surprised I didn't gain ALL the weight back. Going back to Weight Watchers a few weeks ago was SO helpful, and I've been doing really well at tracking.

Something that gradually became a habit again in 2014 was eating more and more processed foods. I've always had processed foods in my diet (for convenience, and because I happen to like them), but for the last year, I started to eat a lot more of them--and I'm sure that didn't help my weight any! So my goal for 2015 as far as my diet goes is to cut WAY back on the processed foods. If there is something that I can make from scratch, I'll do it.

When I saw the film Hungry for Change (again... I've now watched it three times), I was really inspired to cut out the foods that have all kinds of chemicals in them. I'm not stating that I will never eat processed foods again, or that my diet is going to be 100% clean--that's totally unrealistic. I imagine this will be a long, gradual process, and probably very time consuming at first (making everything from scratch). But it's something I'll enjoy experimenting with and blogging about. I'd even like to start doing "Taste Test Tuesdays" again--only instead of trying a product, I'll try a new recipe.

Noah and Eli watched Hungry for Change with me, and after it was over, Eli wanted to look through our pantry and read the ingredients labels to see what foods had chemicals in them. I love that he was so interested in it! Jerry and the boys are all on board with changing up a lot of the things we eat, so hopefully it won't be too bad ;) I'm hoping that tracking my food, as well as eating a healthier diet, will help me get back to my goal weight and get into my best shape to run.

In this picture, I was 132 pounds and at my fastest as far as running goes. This was taken just before the Martian Meteor Half, and I ended up running a 1:52:07 (a PR of 10:50!!). This picture is super motivating to me:

I'm going to get a print of it, and hang it on my fridge. I want to feel like that again, and I'm willing to work hard for it!

I have two secondary goals as well: 1) Run a half-marathon each month. I've already written about this. I think that will help me get prepared for marathon training, too. I don't plan to race all of them--all but one or two will be training runs; and 2) No ice cream at home. If I want ice cream, I can go get a scoop at our local dairy farm, but I will not bring any ice cream into the house. That was a huge problem food for me 2014, and I was scarily getting back into the ice cream habits I had when I was 250+ pounds (eating it by the pint...). I may make homemade ice cream with the kids, but I feel okay about that, because it's more of a family activity and not a binge.

So, there they are! My goals for 2015:

• Run the Detroit Free Press Marathon and (hopefully) PR
• Gradually cut out processed foods
• Run a half-marathon each month
• No ice cream at home

It's kind of interesting that when I look at the list, I don't feel any anxiety about any of those goals. They are all things I'm excited for. Today was a great day food-wise, but this post is already long enough, so I'll save that for later!

Anyone else have goals/resolutions for 2015?

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Top 14 of 2014

Just a few hours left of 2014. As much as I hate to say this, I'm glad it's over. This was a really difficult year for me, in many aspects of my life, and I didn't handle it so well: Sarah died, Mark died, I had to have Paolo euthanized, I battled bad depression and anxiety, I gained 20 pounds, and my running pace slowed back to what it was in 2010. BUT, today, I am putting all of that past me, and focusing on the good things that happened in 2014. And there were a lot of good things! 

At first, I thought, "How am I going to come up with 14 "top" things for 2014? I don't think I could come up with even 5..." But once I started going through pictures of the year, I realized that I had been so focused on the bad things that I hadn't truly appreciated the good things. Before I knew it, I had over 20 things on my list! I spent some time narrowing it down to the top 14.

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1. Spending the last five months of Mark's life trying to make him as happy as possible. I was devastated that Mark wouldn't live long, and I did everything in my power to try to make him happy during the last few months of his life. The very best moment was when he got to go home to his group home and throw a party for the residents--complete with pizza and cake--which was his last wish. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so determined as Mark was to make it home before he passed away. 

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2. I was in RUNNER'S WORLD MAGAZINE. Need I say more? It's mind-blowing to me that in 2009, I was 253 pounds, miserably unhappy, and couldn't even bend over and tie my own shoes without holding my breath. Then in 2014, I was featured in Runner's World magazine?! Ever since I started running, RW has been my favorite magazine, and I couldn't even believe it when I was asked to be a part of it. That led to some other great opportunities as well. As cliche as it sounds, sometimes I feel like I'm dreaming!

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3. Pacing my friend Audrey for her first half-marathon. She was nervous about it, and it was so fun to be there to see her accomplish such a big goal! 

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4. Vacation in Punta Cana with Jerry, the kids, and my sister. When my sister asked if she could tag along on our family vacation, I was excited that she wanted to. She planned everything out for us, which took a ton of stress off, and having her there to help out with the kids so Jerry and I could have time to ourselves was awesome, too. The five of us had a blast sipping drinks by the pool all day for an entire week ;) AND, I wore a bikini for the first time in my life!

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5. Crossing the finish line of my sister's first marathon with her. Just like I never imagined I'd be a runner one day, Jeanie certainly never imagined she'd run 26.2 miles someday, either. She trained really hard for it, and I loved seeing her progress. It was an honor to run the last leg of the marathon with her (I was on a relay team). And I can't even describe how proud I was to see her finish!

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6. Getting much closer with my younger brother, Nathan, this year. I've mentioned before about his PTSD, and how I've always worried about him; but this year, he started taking charge of his health and fitness, which gave us something in common. We started running together about once a week in the spring/summer, and I loved spending that time with him! It's been amazing to see the difference that running has had in his life. 

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7. Walking around Boston with my friend, Caitlin. I'm grateful to have met Caitlin through my blog, and when I was going to be in Boston for a Runner's World event, it was awesome to be able to spend some time with her! She picked me up from the airport, and we went downtown to walk around. Even though it was raining, it was a lot of fun!

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8. Meeting "the mayor of running", Bart Yasso! Despite the fact that I was totally nervous, Bart was SO kind and chatted with me like we were old friends. He signed "my" issue of Runner's World, and I listened to his presentation "My Life on the Run", which was fascinating. If you ever see Bart at a race, make sure you say hello to him!

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9. Taking an impromptu road trip with Jerry to Lake Cadillac, Michigan, and run a 10K. Not only did we run it, but we each won first place in our age groups! (Granted, we were the only ones in our age groups...)  The trip was a blast, and we went wine tasting afterward in Traverse City. It was really fun to do something so spontaneous with just the two of us. 

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10. Running my kids' (and mom's) first 5K with them! I was so proud of all of them for completing it, and the kids finally got to see what the big deal was when I do my races :)

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11. Meeting up with my "Sole Mates" for the Ragnar SoCal in April! These are all people I met through my blog, and we spent quite a bit of time chatting on Facebook before the big event. I wasn't sure how we'd all get along in person, but it was even better than I imagined! I made some life-long friends from this adventure, and I couldn't have asked for more!

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12. Being invited to the Runner's World Half (and Heartbreak Hill Half). When I first started blogging, I never dreamed it would open up such opportunities; but this year, Runner's World magazine invited me to their race events as a guest--how many people get to say that?! I am so humbled and honored to have been a part of it. I learned some amazing things and met some fantastic people. 

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13. Getting to cheer on my little brother, Nathan, as he ran his first full marathon! "Team Nathan" ran around Detroit to cheer him on at several different points along the route. We were all so very proud of him! Afterward, we all met up at a local pizza place to celebrate.

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14. Going to Brian and Becky's wedding in Minnesota (Brian is my older brother). The timing was rough for my family, and we almost weren't able to go (it was the weekend after Punta Cana, and just a few days after my kids started school). I'm so glad that we went, though! It was a very intimate ceremony (the picture below shows everyone in attendance at the ceremony--just immediate family). And the reception, at Becky's parents' house, was so much fun! 

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Some fun facts for 2014: 

• I ran 1,151.86 miles (down from 1,558.5 miles in 2013)--a total of 188 hours, 31 minutes, and 52 seconds. If I was to run 24 hours a day straight through, it would take nearly EIGHT DAYS. 
• My longest run was 14 miles.
• The month that I had the highest mileage was March, with 138.3 miles.
• My average pace for the whole year was 9:51/mi (up from 9:06/mi in 2013).
• I burned 108,690 calories from running... that's equivalent to over 31 pounds of fat (or 1,358 chocolate chip cookies)!
• I completed 20 races: nine 5K's, four 10K's, one 8K, four half-marathons, one Ragnar, and one marathon relay. 
• My most memorable meal was a piece of carrot cake in Boston. I can't describe it, so here is a photo (OMG!): 

• My current favorite breakfast is sourdough toast with coconut oil, and a piece of fruit.
• My current favorite lunch is tuna salad on Dill Triscuits and fruit.
• My current favorite evening snack is a glass of wine and a Weight Watchers peanut butter brownie.
• The thing I am most looking forward to in 2015? Visiting Portland in March! (Closely followed by going to Indy for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May).

Bring on the new year! :)

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Pyramid hill workout

I had hills on the running schedule today. Surprisingly, I don't hate doing them. I generally run them at a slower pace than normal (because going uphill is hard, and it gets my heart rate higher than if I was running at a fast pace on flat road), and I think that's why I don't mind them so much.

Since we don't have hills here, I have to do them on the treadmill. And because I'm training for the Shamrock 15K in Portland, hill training is pretty important. Thomas likes to remind me of this every day of my life. This morning, for example:

This is for all of 2014--I had 9,243 feet of elevation gain, and he had a ridiculous 70,495 feet! 

I set up a hill run on Garmin Connect (the workout that I did last time), but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to show up on my Garmin. It was driving me crazy, so instead of doing that workout, I just decided on an impromptu "pyramid"-type workout. For that, I would run a steady pace (today I decided on 6.0 mph), and then increase the incline every minute by 1%. Go all the way up to 12% incline, then reduce the incline by 1% each minute until I was back at 0%. (No rest between--just a steady pace the whole time). That would take 25 minutes, and I knew it would be crazy-hard, but mentally, a pyramid workout is nice--you think once you get to the "top", then it'll just be smooth sailing to the end.

It totally didn't go as planned ;) First of all, I should have chosen 5.5 mph, but I was cocky and thought I could handle 6.0 with a ridiculous amount of incline. The first few minutes weren't bad at all--0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%. When I hit 4%, it started to get a little tougher. At 5%, I thought, "Hmm, maybe I should just go to 10% and then back down, and skip 11-12%..." At 6%, I thought, "Eek! Maybe I should just do the even numbers..."

At 7%, my lungs were burning. This was only 8 minutes in! I knew there was no way I could go up and back down the "pyramid". I decided to try to make it to 12%, and then call it quits. At 8%, it was all I could do to make it through. At 9%, I knew I was toast. It was all I could do to finish out that minute! I called it quits before increasing to 10%.

All-in-all, I climbed a total of 238 feet over 1 mile. That's tough! But I'm going to have to get used to it before March. My first goal is to make it all the way to 12% at 6.0. Then I'll try and work my way down the pyramid. Again, even though it was hard, I kind of liked it! Tomorrow is a rest day, so that was my last run of 2014.

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I got good news today from Angela, the producer of the From Fat to Finish Line documentary! That's the documentary I took part in during 2012-2013 (which seems like a million years ago now) about my Ragnar Relay team, From Fat to Finish Line (that was our team name as well as the name of the film). I haven't had much (if any) news to share, but the producers and film crew have been working like crazy on it.

Anyway, Angela let my team watch the beginning of the film today (just the first 9 minutes or so) and I am SO excited for the rest! She said they have a deadline of January 6th for a rough copy in order to submit it to the Tribeca Film Festival. It's really coming along now. Angela couldn't give me a date of when it'll be available to watch, but of course I'll share that as soon as I know anything! You can watch the trailer here, if you haven't seen it. 

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If you missed yesterday's post, make sure you check it out--sign-ups for the annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K! :)

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